Arthur C. Clarke v1.0 Dead At 90

Arthur C. Clarke, incomparable writer of such classics as The Fountains of Paradise, Earthlight, The City and the Stars, Childhood's End, Tales of the White Hart and 2001: A Space Odyssey, has died after (as he puts it) completing 90 orbits around the sun.

Clarke's writing style was uniquely enjoyable; although many problems and complications might arise, there is no problem that lies beyond deliberative, rational human effort.

He expressed three wishes in his 90th birthday video: he would like to see some evidence of extraterrestrial life, he wanted to see an end to the addiction to oil and a growth in other alternative technologies, and finally he wished that Sri Lankans could get along.

Clarke has arranged to send some DNA from strands of his hair into orbit. “One day, some super civilization may encounter this relic from the vanished species and I may exist in another time,” he told the Associated Press. Along with his DNA sample, Clarke enclosed a note with a brief handwritten wish addressed to that far-flung future: "Fare well, my clone."

He will be missed.

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